Idaho statesman clippings

Debate over Publick Lands
Fred Trevey.
Trevey said there is no news about
the investigation into a recent tree­spiking
incident on the Postoffice tim­ber
sale near Powell. But he said the
investigation remains a top priority.
"I'm confident that should we find
sufficient evidence, we'll have some
results," Trevey told the audience,
which numbered about 60.
"Words are one thing, but when you
hurt people, that's another," Trevey
said. He called tree spiking "absolute­ly
unacceptable."
Pounding spikes into trees has been
advocated by some people as means
of making timber difficult to harvest
and convert into lumber. Tree spikers
also have been accused of purposely
endangering loggers and millworkers
because the spikes can cause chain­saw
chains and sawmill blades to
break into shrapnel.
Earlier in the meeting, Clark Col­lins
of the Pocatello-based BlueRib­bon
Coalition, a group advocating
rights for off-road vehicle enthusiasts,
said environmental groups, while
they may speak publicly against tree
spiking, actually encourage such ac­tivities.
"It's a sad comment on the preser-
"They're slow to accept the responsi­bility
for their radicals."
He called tree spikers and mem­bers
of the environmental group
Earth First! "a bunch of drunken
adult delinquents."
"They claim environmental con­cern
to justify their vandalism," Col­lins
said.
Danny L. Davis of Kamiah, a bi­ologist
with the Clearwater National
Forest, encouraged members of the
coalition to support a national pro­gram
called "Join Us." He said the
program is aimed at gathering infor­mation
about sensitive animal and
plant species, such as the monkey­flower,
in hope of keeping them off
the endangered species list.
"I'm very concerned also about all
of our jobs," Davis told the group.
"Our goal is to not get species listed."
He said loggers could be doing
themselves a service by collecting in­formation
and reporting sightings of
monkeyflowers and other species to
show they are perhaps not as rare as
thought.
But several people in the audience
said they would hesitate endorsing
such a program for fear that informa­tion
gathered by the coalition could
Motorized recreation fans
becoming more aggressive
By Bill Loftus
of the Tribune
Some Westerners' belief that wil­derness
is the most important
issue is misguided, according to
Clark Collins, director of the
BlueRibbon Coalition.
It's not that the coalition, which
primarily includes groups that represent
motorized
recreational vehi­cle
users, does not
recognize wilderness as an impor­tant
issue, Collins
said Tuesday.
But efforts to
create a national
program to use gas
tax revenues to
. support motorized
Clark Collins recreation is a
more key national issue for the
group, Collins said.
The Pocatello-based coalition,
which Collins estimates has 1,000 in­dividual
members and member or­ganizations
with more than 200,000
members, is actively recruiting. Col­lins
visited Lewiston to meet with
U.S. Forest Service road engineers
gathered at the Ramada Inn and to
attend an Orofino meeting of the
Clearwater Resource Coalition.
The BlueRibbon Coalition's overall
goal is making motorized recreation
a more visible concern in discussions
.about how federal lands are man­aged.
Besides attending meetings,
that means applying political clout,
Collins added.
"While I see the wilderness issue
as a very important one, particularly
in the West, hopefully it will be one
we don't have to deal with forever,"
he said.
To help put the wilderness issue
behind it, the coalition is willing to
negotiate, despite its basic philoso­phy
against more wilderness in the
state, Collins said.
The coalition is less than happy
with the bill offered by Gov. Cecil D.
Andrus and Sen. James A. McClure.
"We .could work with that. Our posi­tion
on that is there are some areas
in there that would cause us some
major problems," Collins said.
Andrus, a Democrat, and Mc­Clure,
a Republican, did do an "ad­mirable
job" and came "reasonably
close" in fashioning their compro­mise,
he said. That was a somewhat
surprising revelation, considering
the coalition's fears about Andrus
based on his past credentials, Collins
said. ·
The governor may be more aware
of the wishes of recreationists who
use motorized vehicles because of his
See Motorized, Page 6C
eoa'i:e ove
Tree spikers find no friends in
Clearwater Resource Coalition
By David Johnson
ofthe Tribune
OROFINO- Irresponsible. Radi­cals.
Terrorists. A bunch of
drunken adult delinquents.
Those were words used Tuesday
night by speakers at a meeting of the
Clearwater Resource Coalition to de­scribe
advocates of tree spiking as a
means of protesting timber harvest­ing.
Coalition members also gave a
lukewarm reception to a proposal that
they help gather information about
sensitive species like the bank mon­keyflower.
The proposal, presented
by a U.S. Forest Service biologist,
was tabled after members expressed
fear such an effort might contribute
to more loggers losing work.
Two representatives of Idaho Wom­en
In Timber, meanwhile, called on
coalition members to join ranks with
other industry groups nationwide to
educate the public about_ natural re­source
utilization.
As for the tree-spiking issue, "I like
to refer to it (tree spiking) as terror­ism.
That sounds kind of neat, be­cause
that's what it boils down to,"
said coalition Chairman Kingsley
Steinbruecker in introducing Clear­water
National Forest Supervisor
Fred Trevey.
Trevey said there is no news about
the investigation into a recent tree­spiking
incident on the Postoffice tim­ber
sale near Powell. But he said the
investigation remains a top priority.
"I'm confident that should we find
sufficient evidence, we'll have some
results," Trevey told the audience,
which numbered about 60.
"Words are one thing, but when you
hurt people, that's another," Trevey
said. He called tree spiking "absolute­ly
unacceptable."
Pounding spikes into trees has been
advocated by some people as means
of making timber difficult to harvest
and convert into lumber. Tree spikers
also have been accused of purposely
endangering loggers and millworkers
because the spikes can cause chain­saw
chains and sawmill blades to
break into shrapnel.
Earlier in the meeting, Clark Col­lins
of the Pocatello-based BlueRib­bon
Coalition, a group advocating
rights for off-road vehicle enthusiasts,
said environmental groups, while
they may speak publicly against tree
spiking, actually encourage such ac­tivities.
"It's a sad comment on the preser­vationists
when they indirectly sup­port
those people," Collins said.
"They're slow to accept the responsi­bility
for their radicals."
He called tree spikers and mem­bers
of the environmental group
Earth First! "a bunch of drunken
adult delinquents."
"They claim environmental con­cern
to justify their vandalism," Col­lins
said.
Danny L. Davis of Kamiah, a bi­ologist
with the Clearwater National
Forest, encouraged members of the
coalition to support a national pro­gram
called "Join Us." He said the
program is aimed at gathering infor­mation
about sensitive animal and
plant species, such as the monkey­flower,
in hope of keeping them off
the endangered species list.
"I'm very concerned also about all
of our jobs," Davis told the group.
"Our goal is to not get species listed."
He said loggers could be doing
themselves a service by collecting in­formation
and reporting sightings of
monkeyflowers and other species to
show they are perhaps not as rare as
thought.
But several people in the audience
said they would hesitate endorsing
such a program for fear that informa­tion
gathered by the coalition could
See Spikers, Page 6C
Motorizec
becoming
By Bill Loftus
of the Tribune
§ orne Westerners' belief th
derness is the most imJ:
issue is misguided, accon
Clark Collins, director ot
BlueRibbon Coalition.
It~s not that the coalition,
primarily includes groups tha
resent moto
recreational
cle users, do•
recognize w
ness as an i
tant issue,
said Tuesday.
But effor
create a nat
program to
tax revenue
. support mota
Clark Collins recreation
more key national issue fo1
group, Collins said.
The Pocatello-based coal
which Collins estimates has 1,0
dividual members and membE
ganizations with more than 21
members, is actively recruiting
lins visited Lewiston to meet
U.S. Forest Service road engi:
gathered at the Ramada Inn a
attend an Orofino meeting 01
Clearwater Resource Coalition.
The BlueRibbon Coalition's o"
I ,.
Motorized ----~Fr-om-1~c
narrow victory in the last
election, he said.
Coalition members have
been encouraged by that re­sponsiveness,
and even An­drus'
outright defense of
motorized recreational vehi­cle
users at wilderness hear­ings
last . summer, Collins
said.
The coalition has been shar­ing
its ideas about how the bill
could be mended, he said.
There is a chance the coali­tion
would be willing to nego­tiate,
but before it could
commit, groups it works with
- the lcfaho Cattle Associa­tion,
timber industry groups
and mining interests - would
have to be consulted, Collins
said.
"But we are going to have
to be able to sit down and be
shown they would be accepted
before we come up with any
concrete proposals," he
added.
Things have clearly begun
to change for recreat10nal us­ers
of motorized vehicles, Col­lins
said. "We feel prettr good
about bein~ involved m the
process, thts time around at
least," he added.
Proposals to allow moto­rized
recreational vehicle cor­ridors
in the White Cloud
Mountains of south central
Idaho is a clear indication of
that, he said. But while the
state's senior politicians were
willing to listen, the state's
wilderness advocates were
not, Collins charged.
Spikers
later be used to undercut jobs.
The issue was tabled until a
later meeting.
Shirley Cromer and Susan
Fagan of Idaho Women In
Timber reported about their
recent trip to Washington,
D.C., and meetings with
members of Congress.
"It's almost like we're
preaching to the choir here in
Idaho," Fagan said. She said
people nationwide must be ed­ucated
about the wise use of
natural resources.
"They are as adamant as
they ever were because they
are noticeably disturbed by
these boundanes," he added.
The BlueRibbort Coalition is
preachin~ a gos{>el that stay­m~
low IS not m the recre­ahonists'
best interests,
Collins said.
The Clearwater Resource
Coalition, a vocal timber in­dustry
support group, is fol­lowing
a philosophy that
woulcf serve recreationists
well, Collins added. "Too
many motorized recre­ationists
believe if ther. keep a
low profile, people Will leave
them alone, and that is not
true," he said.
That also translates into
wielding political clout, some­thing
Collins said the coalition
is just beginnin~ to do. Labor
representatives efforts to
carry a message to Rep. Pet­er
H. Kostmayer, D-Pa., is an
exciting development, he
added.
Kostmayer recently intro­duced
a 3.9-million-acre Idaho
wilderness bill into the House.
Kostmayer introduced the bill
alone, despite various reports
that co-sponsors had been en­listed,
Collins said.
By soliciting the help of fel­low
union members in Kost­mayer's
district and
elsewhere, Idahoans can have
an effect back East, too, Col­lins
said.
"These politicians have
been thinking it's a free vote,
and it's not a free vote any­more,"
he said.
From 1C
"They don't understand
wilderness with a capital W,
where everything is locked
out and no one can get in,"
Cromer said. "We have a
long, hard battle ahead of
us."
The coalition, organized
last September, now has 546
members, according to
spokesman Don Konkol. He
said the goal is to have 3,000
members. "We may not reach
it, but that's not the attitude
we have," he said.

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Full Text

Debate over Publick Lands
Fred Trevey.
Trevey said there is no news about
the investigation into a recent tree­spiking
incident on the Postoffice tim­ber
sale near Powell. But he said the
investigation remains a top priority.
"I'm confident that should we find
sufficient evidence, we'll have some
results," Trevey told the audience,
which numbered about 60.
"Words are one thing, but when you
hurt people, that's another," Trevey
said. He called tree spiking "absolute­ly
unacceptable."
Pounding spikes into trees has been
advocated by some people as means
of making timber difficult to harvest
and convert into lumber. Tree spikers
also have been accused of purposely
endangering loggers and millworkers
because the spikes can cause chain­saw
chains and sawmill blades to
break into shrapnel.
Earlier in the meeting, Clark Col­lins
of the Pocatello-based BlueRib­bon
Coalition, a group advocating
rights for off-road vehicle enthusiasts,
said environmental groups, while
they may speak publicly against tree
spiking, actually encourage such ac­tivities.
"It's a sad comment on the preser-
"They're slow to accept the responsi­bility
for their radicals."
He called tree spikers and mem­bers
of the environmental group
Earth First! "a bunch of drunken
adult delinquents."
"They claim environmental con­cern
to justify their vandalism," Col­lins
said.
Danny L. Davis of Kamiah, a bi­ologist
with the Clearwater National
Forest, encouraged members of the
coalition to support a national pro­gram
called "Join Us." He said the
program is aimed at gathering infor­mation
about sensitive animal and
plant species, such as the monkey­flower,
in hope of keeping them off
the endangered species list.
"I'm very concerned also about all
of our jobs," Davis told the group.
"Our goal is to not get species listed."
He said loggers could be doing
themselves a service by collecting in­formation
and reporting sightings of
monkeyflowers and other species to
show they are perhaps not as rare as
thought.
But several people in the audience
said they would hesitate endorsing
such a program for fear that informa­tion
gathered by the coalition could
Motorized recreation fans
becoming more aggressive
By Bill Loftus
of the Tribune
Some Westerners' belief that wil­derness
is the most important
issue is misguided, according to
Clark Collins, director of the
BlueRibbon Coalition.
It's not that the coalition, which
primarily includes groups that represent
motorized
recreational vehi­cle
users, does not
recognize wilderness as an impor­tant
issue, Collins
said Tuesday.
But efforts to
create a national
program to use gas
tax revenues to
. support motorized
Clark Collins recreation is a
more key national issue for the
group, Collins said.
The Pocatello-based coalition,
which Collins estimates has 1,000 in­dividual
members and member or­ganizations
with more than 200,000
members, is actively recruiting. Col­lins
visited Lewiston to meet with
U.S. Forest Service road engineers
gathered at the Ramada Inn and to
attend an Orofino meeting of the
Clearwater Resource Coalition.
The BlueRibbon Coalition's overall
goal is making motorized recreation
a more visible concern in discussions
.about how federal lands are man­aged.
Besides attending meetings,
that means applying political clout,
Collins added.
"While I see the wilderness issue
as a very important one, particularly
in the West, hopefully it will be one
we don't have to deal with forever,"
he said.
To help put the wilderness issue
behind it, the coalition is willing to
negotiate, despite its basic philoso­phy
against more wilderness in the
state, Collins said.
The coalition is less than happy
with the bill offered by Gov. Cecil D.
Andrus and Sen. James A. McClure.
"We .could work with that. Our posi­tion
on that is there are some areas
in there that would cause us some
major problems," Collins said.
Andrus, a Democrat, and Mc­Clure,
a Republican, did do an "ad­mirable
job" and came "reasonably
close" in fashioning their compro­mise,
he said. That was a somewhat
surprising revelation, considering
the coalition's fears about Andrus
based on his past credentials, Collins
said. ·
The governor may be more aware
of the wishes of recreationists who
use motorized vehicles because of his
See Motorized, Page 6C
eoa'i:e ove
Tree spikers find no friends in
Clearwater Resource Coalition
By David Johnson
ofthe Tribune
OROFINO- Irresponsible. Radi­cals.
Terrorists. A bunch of
drunken adult delinquents.
Those were words used Tuesday
night by speakers at a meeting of the
Clearwater Resource Coalition to de­scribe
advocates of tree spiking as a
means of protesting timber harvest­ing.
Coalition members also gave a
lukewarm reception to a proposal that
they help gather information about
sensitive species like the bank mon­keyflower.
The proposal, presented
by a U.S. Forest Service biologist,
was tabled after members expressed
fear such an effort might contribute
to more loggers losing work.
Two representatives of Idaho Wom­en
In Timber, meanwhile, called on
coalition members to join ranks with
other industry groups nationwide to
educate the public about_ natural re­source
utilization.
As for the tree-spiking issue, "I like
to refer to it (tree spiking) as terror­ism.
That sounds kind of neat, be­cause
that's what it boils down to,"
said coalition Chairman Kingsley
Steinbruecker in introducing Clear­water
National Forest Supervisor
Fred Trevey.
Trevey said there is no news about
the investigation into a recent tree­spiking
incident on the Postoffice tim­ber
sale near Powell. But he said the
investigation remains a top priority.
"I'm confident that should we find
sufficient evidence, we'll have some
results," Trevey told the audience,
which numbered about 60.
"Words are one thing, but when you
hurt people, that's another," Trevey
said. He called tree spiking "absolute­ly
unacceptable."
Pounding spikes into trees has been
advocated by some people as means
of making timber difficult to harvest
and convert into lumber. Tree spikers
also have been accused of purposely
endangering loggers and millworkers
because the spikes can cause chain­saw
chains and sawmill blades to
break into shrapnel.
Earlier in the meeting, Clark Col­lins
of the Pocatello-based BlueRib­bon
Coalition, a group advocating
rights for off-road vehicle enthusiasts,
said environmental groups, while
they may speak publicly against tree
spiking, actually encourage such ac­tivities.
"It's a sad comment on the preser­vationists
when they indirectly sup­port
those people," Collins said.
"They're slow to accept the responsi­bility
for their radicals."
He called tree spikers and mem­bers
of the environmental group
Earth First! "a bunch of drunken
adult delinquents."
"They claim environmental con­cern
to justify their vandalism," Col­lins
said.
Danny L. Davis of Kamiah, a bi­ologist
with the Clearwater National
Forest, encouraged members of the
coalition to support a national pro­gram
called "Join Us." He said the
program is aimed at gathering infor­mation
about sensitive animal and
plant species, such as the monkey­flower,
in hope of keeping them off
the endangered species list.
"I'm very concerned also about all
of our jobs," Davis told the group.
"Our goal is to not get species listed."
He said loggers could be doing
themselves a service by collecting in­formation
and reporting sightings of
monkeyflowers and other species to
show they are perhaps not as rare as
thought.
But several people in the audience
said they would hesitate endorsing
such a program for fear that informa­tion
gathered by the coalition could
See Spikers, Page 6C
Motorizec
becoming
By Bill Loftus
of the Tribune
§ orne Westerners' belief th
derness is the most imJ:
issue is misguided, accon
Clark Collins, director ot
BlueRibbon Coalition.
It~s not that the coalition,
primarily includes groups tha
resent moto
recreational
cle users, do•
recognize w
ness as an i
tant issue,
said Tuesday.
But effor
create a nat
program to
tax revenue
. support mota
Clark Collins recreation
more key national issue fo1
group, Collins said.
The Pocatello-based coal
which Collins estimates has 1,0
dividual members and membE
ganizations with more than 21
members, is actively recruiting
lins visited Lewiston to meet
U.S. Forest Service road engi:
gathered at the Ramada Inn a
attend an Orofino meeting 01
Clearwater Resource Coalition.
The BlueRibbon Coalition's o"
I ,.
Motorized ----~Fr-om-1~c
narrow victory in the last
election, he said.
Coalition members have
been encouraged by that re­sponsiveness,
and even An­drus'
outright defense of
motorized recreational vehi­cle
users at wilderness hear­ings
last . summer, Collins
said.
The coalition has been shar­ing
its ideas about how the bill
could be mended, he said.
There is a chance the coali­tion
would be willing to nego­tiate,
but before it could
commit, groups it works with
- the lcfaho Cattle Associa­tion,
timber industry groups
and mining interests - would
have to be consulted, Collins
said.
"But we are going to have
to be able to sit down and be
shown they would be accepted
before we come up with any
concrete proposals," he
added.
Things have clearly begun
to change for recreat10nal us­ers
of motorized vehicles, Col­lins
said. "We feel prettr good
about bein~ involved m the
process, thts time around at
least," he added.
Proposals to allow moto­rized
recreational vehicle cor­ridors
in the White Cloud
Mountains of south central
Idaho is a clear indication of
that, he said. But while the
state's senior politicians were
willing to listen, the state's
wilderness advocates were
not, Collins charged.
Spikers
later be used to undercut jobs.
The issue was tabled until a
later meeting.
Shirley Cromer and Susan
Fagan of Idaho Women In
Timber reported about their
recent trip to Washington,
D.C., and meetings with
members of Congress.
"It's almost like we're
preaching to the choir here in
Idaho," Fagan said. She said
people nationwide must be ed­ucated
about the wise use of
natural resources.
"They are as adamant as
they ever were because they
are noticeably disturbed by
these boundanes," he added.
The BlueRibbort Coalition is
preachin~ a gos{>el that stay­m~
low IS not m the recre­ahonists'
best interests,
Collins said.
The Clearwater Resource
Coalition, a vocal timber in­dustry
support group, is fol­lowing
a philosophy that
woulcf serve recreationists
well, Collins added. "Too
many motorized recre­ationists
believe if ther. keep a
low profile, people Will leave
them alone, and that is not
true," he said.
That also translates into
wielding political clout, some­thing
Collins said the coalition
is just beginnin~ to do. Labor
representatives efforts to
carry a message to Rep. Pet­er
H. Kostmayer, D-Pa., is an
exciting development, he
added.
Kostmayer recently intro­duced
a 3.9-million-acre Idaho
wilderness bill into the House.
Kostmayer introduced the bill
alone, despite various reports
that co-sponsors had been en­listed,
Collins said.
By soliciting the help of fel­low
union members in Kost­mayer's
district and
elsewhere, Idahoans can have
an effect back East, too, Col­lins
said.
"These politicians have
been thinking it's a free vote,
and it's not a free vote any­more,"
he said.
From 1C
"They don't understand
wilderness with a capital W,
where everything is locked
out and no one can get in,"
Cromer said. "We have a
long, hard battle ahead of
us."
The coalition, organized
last September, now has 546
members, according to
spokesman Don Konkol. He
said the goal is to have 3,000
members. "We may not reach
it, but that's not the attitude
we have," he said.